SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 RAJJAB 9, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net MoI focuses Sudan’s Bashir Syrian bands Relieved on traffic reelected rock Beirut’s Lee handed strategy to president with alternative backdated tackle problem3 94% of8 vote music40 scene doping20 ban Kuwait allocates $3m for Min 23º Max 37º Nepal, to send relief aid High Tide 08:35 & 19:35 Nepalis spend third night in open • Quake toll passes 4,000 Low Tide 01:05 & 13:35 40 PAGES NO: 16504 150 FILS KUWAIT/KATHMANDU: The Cabinet, acting upon HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s Crises, defense deals top Erdogan agenda instructions, allocated $3 million in urgent aid yester- day for victims of an earthquake that hit Nepal and KUWAIT/ANKARA: The crises in Yemen and Syria as parts of India, China and Bangladesh. Minister of State well as defense and construction deals will top the for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- agenda when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Mubarak Al-Sabah announced in a statement that the meets HH the Amir today, the latest sign of Turkish government decided to allocate $3 million in emer- efforts to strengthen ties with Gulf Arab states. gency aid to help the people in Nepal, which was Erdogan has supported fellow Sunni Muslim Saudi struck by a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake, Arabia and its Gulf allies in their campaign against which has so far killed more than 4,000 people and Iran-allied Houthi insurgents in Yemen and has injured hundreds others. repeatedly accused Tehran of seeking to dominate The Cabinet earlier decided to send urgent relief aid, the Middle East. “We will offer some deals to Kuwait foodstuff, medications and shelter materials to Nepal. that are beneficial to both countries, especially During the weekly meeting at Seif Palace, chaired by deals on defense,” Erdogan told a news conference HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- in Ankara yesterday before arriving in Kuwait. Hamad Al-Sabah, the Cabinet offered condolences to He said Turkish contractors had projects worth the republic, Sheikh Mohammad said. The ministers $1.6 billion in Kuwait and that he wanted to asked the Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the increase bilateral trade. Kuwait, a major oil exporter, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), to work with the is part of the Saudi-led alliance that began air international organizations to help alleviate the suffer- strikes last month on the Houthi militia which has ings of the afflicted people in Nepal and neighboring seized large tracts of Yemen including the capital countries. Sanaa. Turkey, which has the second-largest army in Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis spent another the NATO military alliance, has not taken an active night in the open yesterday, as officials warned the role in the operations, although it has said it is able final toll could yet rise sharply once rescuers reach cut- to offer logistic and intelligence support. off areas. With fears rising of food and water shortages, “Regional issues will be discussed during the vis- Nepalis were rushing to stores and petrol stations to it, including Syria and Yemen. Especially on Yemen, stock up on essential supplies in the capital we will discuss what steps we can take together,” Kathmandu, left devastated by Saturday’s quake. Erdogan said. Erdogan said last month that Iran’s Officials say more than 4,100 people are now known to efforts to dominate the Middle East had begun have died, including 4,010 in Nepal - making it the quake-prone Himalayan nation’s deadliest disaster in annoying Ankara, as well as Saudi Arabia and Gulf KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip more than 80 years. Arab countries. — Reuters Erdogan yesterday. — AFP (See Page 2) Continued on Page 13 News in brief UN blames Israel for Gaza attacks GCC seeking unified Israeli actions killed 44 Palestinians at 7 UN schools terror blacklist: Fahd DOHA: Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior Undersecretary Lt UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations the fighting to store their weaponry and, in Gen Sulaiman Al-Fahd has revealed that Gulf inquiry yesterday blamed the Israeli mili- two cases, probably to fire from, is unac- Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are seeking tary for seven attacks on UN schools in ceptable”. The UN chief called on to issue a unified terror blacklist. Fahd made the state- Gaza that were used as shelters during the Palestinian authorities to investigate. 2014 war. “I deplore the fact that at least 44 Israel has repeatedly maintained that ment to KUNA yesterday on the sidelines of the 7th Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli Hamas militants were using civilians as meeting of the GCC interior ministry undersecretaries in actions and at least 227 injured at United human shields and UN premises as storage Doha. Leading the Kuwaiti delegation to the gathering, Nations premises being used as emer- sites for weapons during the 50-day war. In Fahd added that they had discussed security measures gency shelters,” Secretary-General Ban Ki- response to the report, Israel’s foreign min- and arrangements to prevent attempts by any GCC citi- moon said in a letter to the Security istry said criminal investigations have been zen to join terrorist groups in conflict areas like Syria, Council. “It is a matter of the utmost gravity launched against those linked to the Iraq and Libya. The meeting also agreed to support Brig that those who looked to them for protec- attacks on shelters. “Israel makes every Khaled Al Attiya for a third term as head of the Arab tion and who sought and were granted effort to avoid harm to sensitive sites, in Police Sport Federation (APSF), Fahd said. In addition, shelter there had their hopes and trust the face of terrorist groups who are com- the undersecretaries discussed topics on the meeting’s denied,” Ban added as he presented a sum- mitted not only to targeting Israeli civilians agenda and reviewed reports of previous meetings, he mary of the report. The UN chief vowed to but also to using Palestinian civilians and “spare no effort to ensure that such inci- UN facilities as shields for their terrorist told KUNA. dents will never be repeated.” activities,” said foreign ministry spokesman The board of inquiry investigated the Emmanuel Nahshon. 4 dead, dozens trapped in attacks on the schools run by the UN The Gaza war ended with a Egyptian- Saudi building collapse Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from brokered truce after about 2,200 July 8 to Aug 26 last year, but it also shed Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 RIYADH: Civil defense authorities in Saudi Arabia light on the discovery of weapons caches Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed. UN said four construction workers were killed when a at three schools. The schools were vacant spokesman Farhan Haq declined to com- GAZA: Palestinian children play yesterday outside containers in Beit Hanun building they were working on collapsed on a uni- at the time but Ban noted that “the fact ment on whether the findings of the report where their families are temporarily living after their houses were destroyed versity campus yesterday. A civil defense state- that they were used by those involved in Continued on Page 13 during the 2014 summer war between Israel and Gaza militants. — AFP ment said at least four other workers were injured in the collapse, which took place yesterday on the campus of Al-Qassim University. The governor of Qassim, Prince Faisal bin Meshaal, visited the col- Opposition activist No foul play in death lapsed building in the provincial capital Buraydah. The collapse “happened at noon and resulted in of man buried in sand more than 50 workers being trapped”, the Saudi arrested over tweets Press Agency earlier said. Bandar Al-Roshodi, the By Sajeev K Peter last Tuesday evening. A few of his university spokesman, told Saudi television news acquaintances reportedly told police channel Al-Ekhbariya that the workers were most- New media laws criticized KUWAIT: A police team investigating that Abdul Salam was under some ly from Pakistan. from the scene showed a sprawl- the death of an Indian youth whose stress in the recent past. ing but low-level construction site, where many By B Izzak or release him. body was found in a sand pile near a However, the discovery of his body worksite in Surra confirmed that it was in Surra, approximately 30 km from steel support rods had collapsed along with other Meanwhile, a number of MPs and spe- KUWAIT: Police yesterday arrested oppo- cialists who began yesterday debating due to suicide. The officials closed the Abu Halifa, had raised questions about parts of the structure. sition activist Abdullah Al-Rassam and amendments to media laws and a draft case after reaching the conclu- the cause of his death, with detained him apparently over tweets of the so-called electronic media legisla- sion that Rameez Abdul Salam, many suspecting foul play. But Saudi National Guards deemed offensive, according to online tion criticized government proposals to a native of Calicut district of the investigating team, after in Yemen border zone activists and opposition figures. Former raise penalties and fines in the legisla- Kerala, ended his life after slash- interrogating many of Salam’s RIYADH: The first troops from Saudi Arabia’s National opposition MPs strongly lashed out at tion. They insisted that the main focus of ing a vein in his left wrist. A friends and neighbors, con- Guard have been deployed on the border with Yemen, the way Rassam was rounded up by the media law should be to guarantee sharp blade also was recovered cluded that the corpse could official media said late on Sunday.